Thursday 9 November 2017

Four Black Swans have appeared on the Round Pond, I think the first time there has been more than one in the park.


They haven't yet made contact with the single Black Swan, who was on the Serpentine when they arrived. Let's hope they find each other.


The family of Mute Swans hatched on the island are still together, and will probably remain so until the nesting season next year.


A Shoveller on the Round Pond looked ornamental in the low sunlight.


A Grey Heron on the edge of the Serpentine was not bothered by a scaffolder at work a few feet away.


But when some herons got too close to each other on the boathouse roof, there was a kerfuffle.


Two pairs of Egyptian Geese flew into the Rose Garden. The male of one pair chased off the other and returned to his mate in triumph.


A Black-Headed Gull preened on a noticeboard. In the background are the towers of the funfair, which the gardeners refer to as the Winter Wasteland.


A Robin posed beside some red leaves.


A Great Tit also found a matching background.


A Coal Tit held a pine nut down with its foot and daintily pecked out little bits. Coal Tits are particularly fond of pine nuts, and will sometimes follow you for a hundred yards to get more.


A Treecreeper appeared on a trunk near the Henry Moore sculpture.


Farther up the hill, the Little Owl was in her lime tree.


A few yards away there was a sad sight. A rabbit blinded by myxomatosis wandered around listlessly. Minutes later it was killed by a dog, a merciful end. The rabbits in the park have been very hard hit in the past few years both by this disease and by foxes.

7 comments:

  1. Lovely to see the 4 Black Swans together- wonder where they have come from?

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    1. They must have had some experience of park life, as they were keen to be fed by the small crowd that had gathered to admire them. There is now a small population of feral Black Swans in Britain, but in this crowded island 'feral' doesn't mean totally wild.

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  2. Oooh I hope there is a female among them! I hope they stay. Our Black Swans needs some company.

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    1. I've been told that female Black Swans are less ruffled than males. All of these were not very ruffled.

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    2. That looks very promising!

      Poor rabbit. I used to have pet rabbits when I was little. Most of them were rescues from a rabbit farm. They used to live in the backyard, quite happily, I thought at the time. However nearly all died of myxomatosis, sadly. I never wanted to have pet rabbits again after that.

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  3. I like 'Winter Wasteland'.
    Walking in the Lea Valley today (Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve, this time), we saw this rather large white bird sitting quite high up in a tree, a bit too far away to be sure of what it was, without binoculars. It turned out to be a white Heron- not albino, there were a few grey feathers on it. Never seen anything like it.

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    1. Interesting. If it had some grey feathers it can't have been a Great White Egret, which is what I first thought of.

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